Chapter 11 - Accommodating Clients with Disabilities on the WAIS-III and WMS

Abstract

Clinicians are bound by two imperatives when they conduct assessments: the need to follow standardized administration practices and the need to alter standardized practices when assessing individuals with disabilities. Historically, research and recommendations for accommodations have directed clinicians to eliminate construct-irrelevant variance but failed to invoke the equally important imperative of retaining construct representation in the assessment. This chapter focuses on the elaboration of these competing imperatives—reducing construct-irrelevant variance while maintaining construct representation—and suggested a decision-making procedure for clinicians to follow when determining whether and how to accommodate clients with disabilities. The chapter also reviews research using the Wechsler scales with individuals who have disabilities. The reviews suggest four general conclusions. Although these conclusions have reasonable support from the research, it is essential to note that there are significant limitations to the strength of these conclusions for guiding clinical practice with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III and Wechsler Memory Scale-III.